R v Lee Hammill
[2024] EWCA Crim 519
R v Gary Christopher Piggott
1 March 2023
[2023] EWCA Crim 315
Court of Appeal
A man was found guilty of sexually abusing a 12-year-old boy. He tried to appeal his conviction, claiming his lawyer was bad and there wasn't enough evidence. The judge said his lawyer did a good job, and there was enough evidence to convict him, so the appeal was rejected.
Key Facts
- •Gary Piggott convicted of two counts of assault of a child under 13 by penetration, three counts of sexual assault of a child under 13, and one count of causing a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity.
- •Offenses allegedly occurred on May 29th and 30th, 2020, against a 12-year-old boy (C1) at C1's home.
- •Piggott denied all charges, claiming he was at a party and then slept on a sofa at C1's house.
- •DNA evidence was inconclusive; no saliva/DNA attributable to Piggott was found on C1's penile swabs.
- •The victim (C1) gave an ABE video-recorded interview detailing the assaults.
- •Piggott's trial counsel refuted criticisms regarding the presentation of the DNA evidence and other aspects of the trial.
- •Piggott's solicitors also refuted criticisms regarding their representation.
Legal Principles
Reporting restrictions under the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1992 apply to prevent the identification of victims.
Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1992
Outcomes
Appeal against conviction refused.
The court found no arguable merit in any of the grounds of appeal and considered the convictions safe. The court found the trial was conducted adequately and that the jury's verdicts were reasonable given the conflicting evidence.
Application for extension of time to appeal refused.
No arguable basis for appeal existed, rendering the time extension request moot.